C.K.Thomas - Author Insider News!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

We almost stayed on the road from Memorial Day to Labor Day!
My husband, Frank and I drove our Newmar RV from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle,
Washington on the first leg of our journey that began Monday, Mar 25. The
Newmar, being a recent purchase, naturally needed a name. We settled on
Starship Arrowstar for our interest in the Star Trek series and for the
Arrowstar series of books I write.

Our maiden voyage continued from Seattle to Ennis, Montana,
to visit friends, on to Ashland, North Carolina for an antique motorcycle rally
(International Norton Owners Association – a group my husband started way back
in the 1970s for bikers who ride British bikes). Frank’s brother lives nearby on the top of a mountain along the
Blue Ridge Parkway where we spent a few days reminiscing about old times
following the rally.

Heading west again, we stopped in my hometown of Kokomo,
Indiana and made a stop for air conditioning repairs in Elkhart, Indiana, the
birthplace of nearly all RV’s made in the USA. Pushing north to Dearborn,
Michigan, we delighted in touring the Henry Ford Greenfield Village and Museum.
Then, we struck out northward to Mackinac Island and beyond to the wild country
of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Wisconsin was a blur as drove south to Fort Worth, Texas and the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame
and Museum, a gold mine of information about women of the West featured in my
writing. On across the wide, wide state of Texas to New Mexico and Pie Town
where we enjoyed the finest pie this side of the Mississippi River! Here’s a
YouTube link where you can see for yourself.

We took a lazy rest break in northern Arizona’s tall pines
at a place know as Heber/Overgaard. We fell in love with the breezy cool of the
forest and the slow-living enjoyed by those smart enough to live there.

We were
reluctant to leave for Phoenix, but after a couple of days we made the shift
into the desert heat we love to hate. Actually, the heat hasn’t been unbearable
since our return with highs in the upper 90s and lows in the 80s. The pool is
still swimmable, and it’s great sleeping in our own bed again.

The hard part about arriving home from any trip, as you all
know, is facing the reality of life as it has progressed without you. Now’s the
time to make doctor appointments, vet appointments for the dogs, mow the yard
that now looks jungle-like, and get on with other pressing chores.

Speaking of pressing chores, A Train Robber’s Tale, is now
way behind schedule and unlikely to be finished this year as promised. I’m also
working on a second edition or at least a revised edition of the first book in
the Arrowstar series where I’ve discovered some inconsistencies in the flow of
time that need correcting.

If you have read Arrowstar and discovered these mistakes,
I’d love hearing from you. I’ve had no feedback that anyone, besides me has noticed
these discrepancies. I’d be glad to give you a free updated version of Arrowstar
and also a free copy of A Train Robber’s Tale if you’re the first person to contact
me with the details of your discovery.